Parenthetically Speaking

This blog has moved

2010-03-06T14:21:00.001-05:00

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Blogger Dropping FTP service

2010-02-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

Blogger is dropping FTP service. I'm tempted to let this website fall by the wayside, because I use Blogger/FTP to update this site. We'll see.

Climate != Weather

2010-01-16T11:08:00.002-05:00

It�s Cold and My Car is Buried in Snow. How Can Global Warming be Happening?

Easily, because climate is not the weather.

A few snow storms, cold snaps or even heat waves do not prove anything about climate change, because there is a significant difference between weather and climate. Weather is what we experience on any given day or even over a couple weeks. Climate describes a region's prevailing conditions�including such things as temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity and atmospheric pressure�over long periods of time. Climate is a good indicator of what to expect. For example, in the Midwest, one would expect cold winters. Whereas, in a Mediterranean climate, one would expect a generally milder winter.

Climate change refers to shifts in prevailing conditions observed over decades. One such shift is a long-term rise in global average temperatures. The current cold spells are occurring against this backdrop.

Gendered Language and Positions of Responsibility, or, "Yes, Prime Ministress"

2009-12-30T10:16:00.004-05:00

GENDER/LANGUAGE: Rejecting the Derogatory 'Feminine' By Miren Gutierrez and Oriana Boselli

"ROME, Dec 26 (IPS) - What happens to language and the way women are addressed when they start to occupy positions of responsibility? Well, it depends on the language."

Spanish leans to the feminine form of the word, while Italian simply applies the masculine form regardless of the person's actual testosterone levels - 'il ministro' to minister Mara Cafagna, who is a woman. Hm.

Some interesting notes on the "dynamic of the exception" in the sidebar article, so be sure to read that. My male readers, I trust, will be able to take it seriously because it is espoused by fellow men. So it can't just be radical man-haters, right?!

(Oh, how I long for the Revolution, when all obstreperal lobes will be free from patriarchy-induced explosions and we spinster aunts can lounge about with our margaritas in total comfort. In the meantime I console myself with I Blame the Patriarchy. I mean, shit, people, these languages's NOUNS have GENDER. Girl nouns! Boy nouns! On the one hand, ew. On the other hand, maybe it's more honest, you know?)

This is Just a Great Description of Someone

2009-12-28T16:05:00.002-05:00

The Mexicans of Mexico On "Wab."

"The final word on 'wab' goes to Dr. Armin Schwegler, a professor in UC Irvine's Department of Spanish and Portuguese who specializes in dialectology and Spanish in the United States. He's taught at the school for 20 years and drops language trivia like some people default on their house payments."

It's just that this particular simile is unique to the current economic situation. It makes me wonder what someone 15 years from now might think reading it. (Hopefully, they won't understand the comparison but will still get it from context...)

Oil Spill - one of worst on the North Slope

2009-12-12T10:04:00.003-05:00

Spill is one of worst on the North Slope

"Officials have found a 24-inch jagged rupture in a pipeline that began pouring oil and water Nov. 29, creating one of the biggest North Slope crude oil spills ever."

One ice plug was more than a quarter of a mile long. Shit howdy.

Note, by the way, the following:

"They've used Bobcats to scoop up the mess and vehicles called Rolligons with huge, low-pressure tires to haul it away. They're building an ice road for trucks, though the weather at times has been too warm for the ice road work."

Ice roads are a common concept in this kind of environment...and now the weather ON THE NORTH FUCKING SLOPE has been "too warm" for an ice road. I have varying pairs of words to state at this point: Global Warming. Climate Change. We're Fucked.

And it ain't just about ice plugs, neighbors. It's about permafrost melting. It's about ice roads. It's about subsistence living that depends on ice and permafrost and pipeline maintenance and spill cleanup that depends on ice and permafrost. It's about the rules changing dramatically.

Check this out:

US National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change Educational Resources Regional Paper: Alaska With regards to oil pipelines: "The pipeline's support structures are designed for specific ranges of ground temperatures, and are subject to heaving or collapse if the permafrost thaws. Replacing them, if required, would cost about $2 million per mile."

Because of climate change, "the hard-frozen conditions needed to support ice roads around the North Slope oil fields now exist for only about 100 days a year. . . . Thirty years ago, oil companies could use ice roads for about 200 days of the year." Global warming devastating native Alaskans. See also, Warmer climate creates engineering challenges, Kenai Peninsula Online.

Can't fix it if you can't get to it.

Awesome 2001: Doctor Who video mashup

2009-11-21T15:02:00.002-05:00

That's just NEAT. 2001: A Who Odyssey.

Nooooooooo!

2009-11-21T09:40:00.004-05:00

No, slacktivist, stop reviewing "Tribulation Force"! The train wreck of it - can't...turn...away.

A great way to learn about writing is to read a lot of it, good and bad, and think about it. But oh, god, is this stuff painful.

http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2009/11/tf-showdown-letdown.html

But the commentary is lovely! Check this out:

So far in Tribulation Force, the Buck pages are outnumbering the Rayford pages by more than 2-to-1. And even when we do check in briefly with Buck's co-star here it's mainly in order to eavesdrop on Chloe's side of Buck's romantic subplot, in which Rayford plays the role of the nurse in Romeo and Juliet.

*snigger*

Honestly, I Thought It Was _The Onion_, at First

2009-11-19T11:20:00.002-05:00

Kellogg Plant Flood Triggers Eggo Waffle Shortage

We are working around the clock to restore Eggo store inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible," Charles said in the e-mail.

You kids have it easy today, going a day or two without your Eggo waffles. Why, I remember the Pancake Riots of '86, how we battled for our lives in the Great Syrup Catastrophe of '91. Oh, the humanity!

Ha. Finally A 'Good' Reason to Care About Environment

2009-11-16T15:07:00.001-05:00

'Cuz if you don't, you'll get turned into a girly-man. Plastic chemicals 'feminise boys'.

warning: this post contains both sarcasm and news.

Wow, cool.

2009-11-12T11:22:00.001-05:00

Sniff test to preserve old books

Researchers report in the journal Analytical Chemistry that a new "sniff test" can measure degradation of old books and historical documents.

That's just neat.

Excellent Things

2009-11-10T09:28:00.002-05:00

Steve @ Now This has started a trend: excellent things. As in, list them.

OK. I like that.

1. The webcomic 'Digger', by Ursula Vernon. It's weird, it's beautifully drawn, and I love it. Excellent!
2. The webcomic/printcomic 'The Dreamer', by Lora Innes. Set in today and the Revolutionary War, it's just so so so cool. Excellent!
3. Living Harvest's hemp milk. Delicious. I don't drink milk b/c of my allergy, even though I've fallen off the wagon and eat cheese and chocolate right now, I have never been able to bring myself to buy milk. So I've tried a lot of milk substitutes over the years, and I picked up a carton of hemp milk, made from hemp seeds, at The Hempest, a store in Boston, and loved it. And now, look! Hemp milk at Whole Foods just down the street from my apartment! Excellent!

Domina Hatshepsut Pepper, 1997-2009

2009-10-29T13:02:00.001-05:00

Pepper Being Cute as a Button
Originally uploaded by sidravitale

aka "#1 Cat."

This is Why Environmental Protection Is Important

2009-10-03T10:37:00.002-05:00

Because your kids will drink that water. School drinking water contains toxins

You Assholes

2009-09-19T12:42:00.003-05:00

I do NOT cuss in print lightly (anymore...well, ever). Domestic violence as a pre-existing condition? Are you fucking kidding me?

Treating Domestic Violence as a Preexisting Condition is Only One Example of the Rampant Sexism in the Healthcare Debate

Our health care system is broken. BROKEN. Not to mention the sexism.

Domestic Violence is a "Pre-existing Condition?"

BROKEN. How can anyone in their right mind not want to break the monopoly, rationing, and overall control of these companies that stand between us and receiving health care?

Wow, cool!

2009-09-19T09:55:00.001-05:00

A skull that rewrites the history of man It has long been agreed that Africa was the sole cradle of human evolution. Then these bones were found in Georgia...

Ooooo. I love a good mystery!

Glass Microbes

2009-09-12T09:43:00.002-05:00

Glass Microbiology Suddenly, my Ebola virus plushie seems quaint.

We Just Don't Call it 'Rationing'

2009-09-12T08:46:00.002-05:00

We Ration. We Ration. We Ration. We Ration.

"We ration. We ration without discussion, remorse or concern. We ration health care the way we ration other goods: We make it too expensive for everyone to afford."

Thousands Line Up for Promise of Free Health Care

Remote Area Medical - started in 1985 as a mobile health clinic serving undeveloped countries and later rural America - comes to L.A., and THOUSANDS of people show up for care because they can't afford it otherwise. A telling quote from one of the patients, "You know when you haven�t seen a doctor in so many years you have a lot of questions."

Senator Kennedy's Legacy

2009-08-29T10:00:00.003-05:00

So, what did he do?, courtesy of TwistedChick, a long-trusted news and news aggregation source.

Thoughts on Excellence

2009-08-29T08:57:00.003-05:00

Kilohana Men in the Duke Kahanamoku Race 2007 (hat tip to Kate Elliot. Thanks, Kate!). Watching this made me misty-eyed for two reasons. One, I've become a sap in my old age.[*] Two, it is a joy to see a thing done well, and with passion, because I believe in doing all things well, and with passion. This is why we admire athletes - who do a thing and do it well. This is why we admire all those who achieve excellence and pity those who have never reached for it in the entirety of their lives. To do a thing well, to strive to do that thing well - whether it is writing legal briefs, writing code, singing, dancing, stand-up comedy, playing basketball, or whatever it is that you consider worth doing - is an important part of the human experience, and may even be the quintessential human experience. What a marvel is humanity, when we do a thing and do it well.

[*] OK, it's more complex than that, but, I have.

Lion of the Senate - Gone

2009-08-26T11:04:00.002-05:00

Obituary: Edward Kennedy (at BBC News)

It's interesting to me that on NPR this morning they kept talking about how Kennedy got stuff done regardless of which party controlled the White House. He stood firm on his principles of public service and progressive ideals. It's standing firm and working both sides of the aisle to achieve real results, not pseudo-partisan "compromises," that gets things done. Current Democratic senators and representatives, take heed. You can't give away your goal to get your goal.

I've gotten a lot of flack for this over the years...

2009-08-22T12:32:00.004-05:00

But I still don't get why I, a woman, shouldn't crow when I do something well, or, be proud of my accomplishments. Because it'll hurt a man's feelings? Any more than when I punch you in the face?

It's a huge step away from what women are commonly expected to do - we've all noted studies in which women are observed to phrase sentences as questions as opposed to statements, so that we don't step on the widdle men's toes by challenging them directly and confidently. We're also told not to boast of our achievements or accomplishments because somehow men are easily intimidated by this. (Apparently.)

My name means "star," and I'm not hiding my light for anyone.

"There's a force stronger than nature, keeps her will alive"

2009-08-11T09:43:00.002-05:00

So, it's obvious I hope that this blog is on its last legs. I never write, I never call. Tut, tut. Don't know if it'll change or not, as I seem to be doing more "Sidra the Writer" type stuff on livejournal/dreamwidth, which, doesn't mean much anyway, and the purpose of this blog is political and social commentary, and writing.

We'll see what happens.

Anyway. There are times when one wishes to bust out in song, not to celebrate anything in particular, and not in a 76 trombones musical kind of way (or even a Victor/Victoria kind of way) but just bust out in song because it's been too long since the last time you busted out. So last night Freddie Mercury bust out in my head, champion that he is, and I regaled my neighbors I suppose, with a little a cappella "We Are the Champions". Yeah, baby, sing it! I miss Freddie Mercury. I miss the music of my childhood and youth, but is it that it's better music (and by what metric?) or is it that it's the music of my childhood and youth, before life got more and more difficult, and so many burdens accreted that now I feel like my own planetary disk. Feel free to spin off a small planet, oh, debt, oh loneliness, oh people who've fucked themselves over whom I cannot save. Spin off and orbit around me if you must, though I'd much rather you went all rogue planet on me and departed my gravitational well entirely.

Sigh. So much for astronomical metaphors.

Three links make a post, my friends:

Bitchin cool, as they used to say: Shepardess makes bridal gown from wool of her own sheep. It looks really cool, seriously, you gotta click on this.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver dies. I admire the Kennedy ethic greatly - with great gifts, comes the obligation to use them in service of others. Funny how the (frequently republican) politicos forget that the little people whom they oft disdain so much are in fact the people they are supposed to be working for.

I've been reading Iroquois Diplomacy on the American Frontier, let me tell you all about it.

mini-update

2009-07-24T08:18:00.003-05:00

Grandma, dead.

Awesome wedding entrance video. That's how to do it, baby.

Phase change in Alaska as the permafrost melts - and lakes disappear. Alaska Meltdown.

Wow, do I love Jimmy Carter

2009-07-14T21:31:00.002-05:00

I always loved him before, for living his principles, unlike so many who claim said principles and then defile them - that's a rant for another time - but I love him even more now.

The Words of God Do Not Justify Cruelty to Women.